The Elegance of Crystal Chandeliers

A good chandelier can add just the right touch to any room of the house. Chandeliers used to be mainly in entryways and dining rooms of homes but now chandeliers are hanging and can be seen hanging in any room.  Longer ones over a kitchen island. 








 Even over your bathtub!


And chandeliers themselves have changed down through the years. But, my favorites are the crystal chandeliers.  

From the ornate to the simple. 

From very colorful to black. 

                                             But the best colors from any chandelier (yes, even the black chandelier)the best colors are the rainbows from the sun shining through each crystal.

 

Silverware

Also know as "flatware" and/or "cutlery". 

How many of you have ever sat down to a dinner table and found the table set as such?

I've seen a few movies where the main character has sat down to a formal table setting also not knowing about all the silverware sitting there before them.  And a lot of times you will hear a co-star politely advise to just start with the utensils on the outside and work your way in.  Did that ever leave you sitting wondering what and why?  LOL.

Going through the silverware only starting with #5.  That is your salad fork - If a salad fork is used, it belongs to the left of the dinner fork.  Which means #6 is your Dinner fork - Placed to the left of the plate. No more than three forks to the left of the plate. If there are three forks, they are usually salad, fish, and meat, in order of use, from outside in. An oyster fork always goes to the right of the soup spoon. 

This jumps us to #7.which is your butter knife - Place horizontally on bread plate. 

#8 and #9 are you dessert spoon and cake fork.  Both to be placed above the plate.

#10 is your dinner knife - To the right of the plate. Sometimes there are multiple knives, perhaps for meat, fish, and salad, in order of use from outside in.  And following the dinner knife is #11 your tea spoon and #12 your soup spoon. 

And what is the difference you may ask? 
 Forks: A dinner fork is the standard-sized fork. The salad fork is slightly smaller than the dinner fork. A dessert fork is about the same length as the salad fork but may be narrower. The fish fork is about the length of a dinner fork but is often narrower. An oyster or shellfish fork is very small and usually has only two tines.
  Knives: The dinner knife is the standard-sized knife. The butter knife is much smaller and usually has a rounded tip. A fish knife is about the same size as a dinner knife, but it has a special tip for undressing a fish that is served with head, skin or bones. A steak knife has an extra-sharp, usually serrated, blade.
 Spoons: Generally, a soup spoon and a dessert spoon are the only spoons required. A demitasse spoon may be brought out with a cup and saucer for coffee, though using the dessert spoon is considered acceptable to stir within all but the most formal settings. Different soup spoons are available for cream soups or broths, but a standard soup spoon is usually enough. A tablespoon or place spoon may be set on a formal table if the meal requires it, and they are often used for an informal meal where no soup is served. A teaspoon is only required when there will be tea served.
The next time I happen to be invited to a fancy formal dinner I know I can confidently eat my salad with the right piece of silverware.  LOL.

Peace, Love and True Faith.

Weekend Getaway

This last weekend my husband and I had the chance to spend time in a condo in Eden, UT.  Here is my wonderful husband standing in our little kitchen.  Our condo was a one bedroom fully provided for up to 4 people.
And when I say "provided" for I mean with almost every basic "tool" needed for cooks.
In fact, it had given me a blog idea for Cook's Essentials; as in pots and pans and such...but I found out that Cook's Essentials is an actual brand name of some fryers.  Duh!  And those were not provided.  LOL!  We had a basic fry pan, a couple different sizes pans, various cooking utensils,  a shredder, measuring cup and spoons, pitcher, strainer, teakettle and coffee pot.  Our condo slept up to four so we had silverware; for four, a complete dinnerware set for four and there were extra Anchor Hocking Glassware up to six.  Since we were there with husband's entire family, most of our meals were at his parents condo.  All of us were keeping track of the extra fork or coffee cup that was carried to their place.

We had a very good time but 4 nights was still way to short of a relaxing time.  The scenery was breath taking.  This picture was taken about noonish.  You can see the sun shining through the yellow of the trees.  Just a few short miles above our condo was Powder Mountain Ski Resort.  That's me standing in front of a yurt there.  Believe it or not that is my dream home.  A yurt somewhere in the NE GA mountains. 

Here is a view of our ride back down to our condo.
The road seen across the way I think would be the Ogden canyon pass.

Anyway, just thought I would share.  It isn't often my husband and I get away.  I wish my camera could have done the pictures better justice than what is posted but nothing is better than the actual view itself.

Take care Everyone!

Peace, Love and True Faith.

Stocking your Home Bar

Besides the obvious booze there are other items needed to stock your bar. And to list all the liquors that one could/should stock would take up this blog. LOL.

I am talking more about the glasses & barware that is needed to set up a good bar. If your budget does not allow the purchase of all the different drink glasses available on the market today, then your bar should have the basic drinking glasses and a shot glasses. With the shot glasses you can either just drink straight from it or use to measure an amount of liquor for a certain drink. Any drink no matter how fancy or how it is to be served can be poured into a regular drinking glass

As mentioned above, there are many different drink glasses on the market today. There are Old Fashioned glassed, martini glasses, beer steins/mugs, goblets and toasting flutes. But the three basics made for certain liquors that can be used for any cocktail out there. Those would be: champagne glasses, wine glasses and the ever popular mararita glasses.

How ever and what ever you stock your home bar with always remember to drink responsibly.

Candle Holders in a Pinch

Many homes now a days have candles in some size shape and form. A majority will probably be jar candles or votives already in a little holder. But what happens if you have a bunch of candles but no holders? There are many items around the house that can be used as candle holders in a pinch. Of course it would still depend on the size and shape of the candles you have. Safety is a big issue as you do not want to use anything that could melt or catch on fire.

Here are some common household items that a candle could safely burn in. A cup and/or saucer will hold votives, smaller pillars and tealights. A larger pillar would set on a salad/dessert plate. Shot glasses will also hold some of the smaller votives or pillars. A candy dish, glass coaster, empty pickle jar, or tin can are also great candle holders. Empty salt and pepper shakers depending on their opening will hold tapers. A large glass serving bowl or punch bowl will hold floating candles. Even something like a cupcake tin could be used to hold candles.

Just look around your home and take into consideration the size/shape of the candles you are wanting to burn and the location. Make sure that stay safe keeping the candles away from curtains/draperies and keep children and animals away from the open flames.

Kitchen Faucets...not just hot and cold anymore.

When you think of a new kitchen faucet, what is the first thing that pops into your head? For most of us it is probably how it looks or catches the eye. The second thing would be the price, or it would be for me. LOL.
Now a days there's so much more into purchasing a kitchen faucet than just filling in the holes.

Somethings you might need to think about when shopping:

1)Scald-guards,or faucets that will keep the water at a certain temperature reducing burns to hands.

2)Spout height and reach, to make sure that big deep spaghetti pans fits under making filling much easier.

3)Handles, the word says it all. Is the faucet you are deciding upon one that does it all right there or do you still need the hot and cold handles?

4)Mounting styles, are you going to use the same sink you have had or purchase a new one. Deciding on a new faucet also depends on new holes drilled or using pre-exsisting.

5)Water filtration, this has become a very important part of faucets. Many newer faucets have the filtration system built right into it. With these faucets one could save money by not having to buy plastic bottled water.

If you are thinking of a redo in the kitchen and the faucet is on that list you may find yourself shopping all day. There are so many varieties and beautiful choices in today's kitchen faucets you might as well put you feet up and shop in comfort.

Storage.

What do you think of when you hear the word "storage"? What type of storage and/or that there is never enough storage? And what do you store?

The dictionary defines:
"stor·age
[stawr-ij, stohr-]
–noun
1. the act of storing; state or fact of being stored: (All my furniture is in storage.)
2. capacity or space for storing.
3. a place, as a room or building, for storing.
4. Computers . memory.
5. the price charged for storing goods."

And until I had read that, I hadn't even thought of storage in terms of computers. LOL.

We as humans tend to have a need to gather and keep a lot of stuff. Stuff we use on a daily basis and other stuff is just there. And like definition number 5 above...some of us have enough stuff that we need to put it in storage! Comedian George Carlin once did a skit on "Stuff" and in it says: "Imagine that. There's a whole industry based on keeping an eye on your stuff!"

How and what different types of storage is there? There is...closet storage and kitchen and pantry storage. There is storage for outdoor and the garage. Don't for get the other storage as in under the bed to storage for wine.

What other types of storage items for stuff is there? Some people like to use decorative organizers or baskets and bowls to keep trinkets in. There's shelves for books and media and shelves and storage in the bathroom for towels and that handy extra roll of toilet paper. Oh! don't forget about the kid's room!

I think I have rattled on enough about storage and the different types available. There are many more ideas and such out there I am sure. Do any of you have any other creative ways that you keep your stuff in storage?